Improved process for preserving wood



Ll S. ROBBINS.

` Process' for Preserving Wood.

No.47,132. PatentedApril 4, 1865.

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LOUIS S. ROBBINS, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PRESERVING WOOD.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 417, H3?, dated April 4, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LoUIs S. RoBBrNs, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Process for Preserving Wood from Mold and Decay; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof', which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

It is a Well-known fact that wood when cut down and separated from its roots, which supply it with its antiseptics, immediately becomes att'ected by the deleterious eii'ects ot' exposure to the heat and moisture of the atmosphere, the former of which rapidly absorbs the iiuid or sap portion of the Wood, while the latter impregnates the woody bers with substances which the wood, while growing, by its antiseptics, entirely excluded. These alternate actions upon the Wood gradually and nally cause it to decay and melder. To preventthis decay and melder of wood is therefore the object of the present invent-ionand is accomplished thereby, it consisting in subject ing the wood to a preservative process by which nearly all of its antiseptics are retained within the same, and for those lost, occasioned by the cutting and preparing of the wood for the purposes intended, supplying such substances as will prevent their further waste, and also form such a combination with the bers of the Wood-closing its pores-as to effectually prevent the deteriorating elfe-cts of either heat or moisture, or of both, upon the same, as hereinbefore alluded to.

Many processes have been heretofore invented for the preservation of wood, some of which were entirely impracticable and others only partially so, but by none could the wood be suciently impregnated or saturated with the preservative compound as to insure its preservation for any length of time, owing to the manner in which the same was applied to the wood.

One form of apparatus for carrying out my improved process is represented in the accompanying plate of drawings, of Which- Figure lis a central longitudinal vertical section 5 and Fig. 2, a horizontal section taken in the plane of line r w, Fig. l.

bers or receptacles d d, through pipes f f, provided with cocks f/ g. Into the chambers dal the Wood to be acted upon is placed in any proper manner.

Heat being applied to the retort a, containing the coal-tar, Ste., as described, oleaginous vapors are generated therein, which pass out of the same through the connectingpipe c c into the wood-chambers d d, or into only one of the same, as may be desired, and by their heat first cause the surface moisture of the Wood to be removed therefrom, taking the form ot' steam and condensing on the sides ot said chamber, from which it is drawn ott' through pipes h h, entering at or near the bottom l; and having thus removed the surface moisture from the wood I then thoroughly impregnate and saturate it through its pores and bers by the oleaginous vapors and heavier products of distillation until it is made impervious to moisture, and so as to be unaffected by the deteriorating etlects of the same and ot' the atmosphere, when it can be removed from the chambers d d, through the doors m m, and the chambers again charged with wood, and so on as long as may be desired.

In the operation of my process a temperature ot' from 212O to 2500 Fahrenheit is sut'- iicient to remove the surface moisture from the Wood, and to saturate the same with oleaginous vapors and products it is best that the temperature should be raised to 3000 Fahrenheit, or more, if necessary.

From the above description it is apparent that by my process I am enabled to more completely saturate the wood with the preservative compound than has been or could be done by any of the processes heretofore in use for the reason that I cause the preservative compound to permeate the pores and fibers of the wood in a vaporized state, while in the others it is made to enter in a liquid state 5 and it is also evident that it is acconr plished in an economical, expeditious, eft'eetive, and practical manner.

I do not intend to limit myself to any particular form of apparatus, nor do I intend to limit myself to the removing of the surface moisture from the wood by means of oleaginous vapors, as herein described, as there are various Ways in which the same can be accomplished with the use of heat; but

What I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process herein described for prcserv ing Wood from melder and decay, the same consisting in first removing the surface moisture from the Wood and then charging and saturating the same with het oleaginous yapors and compounds, substantially as herein described.

2. Removing the surface moisture from Wood by means of hot eleaginous vapors, substantially as herein described.

LOUIS S. ROBBINS.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, ALBERT W. BROWN. 

